South Africa's Wayde van Niekerk reacts in the Men's 400m Final during the athletics event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 14, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Adrian DENNIS
August 13, 2016
#ReadySetRio: Van Niekerk wins men’s 400m in world record
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – South African Wayde Van Niekerk smashed Michael Johnson’s long-standing 400m record when he stormed to Olympic gold on Sunday.
Van Niekerk, running in the unfavoured lane eight, blasted off the final corner to time 43.03sec, 0.15sec quicker than Johnson’s previous world best set in Seville in 1999.
Defending champion Kirani James of Grenada took silver in 43.76sec, with American Lashawn Merritt bronze (43.85).
